music magazine front covers

Analysis of Q magazine :
Q is a music magazine published monthly in the UK. The magazine features new music releases, music complications, film and live concert reviews as well as radio and television reviews. Most of the magazine is devoted to interviews with particular artists, in this case Madonna we can see this because she is the focal image on the front cover and is pictured in the centre of the magazine which immediately focuses the reader to her. The colour scheme used is mainly red, white and black these colours are often used in magazines because they are bold and make the magazine look proffesional. The main headline is 'Madonna' featured in red which is associated with importance, showing that she is the main focus of this edition. On the left handside there is a list of what else is going to be featured in the magazine such as famous stars as of 'Girls aloud', 'Russel Brand', 'Kaiser Chiefs' etc this shows that it is a popular magazine.
At the bottom of the magazine it shows what it is giving away in the magazine, Q magazine often gives away freebies such as Albums etc however in this case a 70 page special women in music. this also shows that it is a very successful magazine because of the fact it is giving away freebies with the magazine.

This is a classic example of a mainstream music magazine. We can recognise this by the magazines classic title 'RollingStone' this could perhaps be named after the famous band The rolling stones, this will therefore attract many potential buyers into purchasing the magazine.
The main focus on the magazine is Christina Aguilera who is a very famous female artist, she is pictured in the center of the magazine possibly because the reader will be instantly drawn into looking at her and what the main article of the magazine will be about.
The main advantage for this magazine is that it covers all the main music genre therefore not for a specific genre. This magazine not only covers music related topics but also general showbiz news and news altogether.
With Christina Aguilera the main focus on the front cover this is possibly because she is promoting a new album or single etc.

When looking at mixmag i can immediately establish that is a dance music magazine, this is because mainly of the font used it is large and is often seen on posters advertised around clubs and bars. Also the colour scheme plays a big role in creating the genre, the magazine editors have used bright funky colours such as yellow, pink and orange these are bold and are often associated with new and upbeat music.
The artist featured on the front cover of mixmag are the successful band 'klaxons' they are an indie/dance group who are big in the UK, they are therefore the main focus of the magazine also the band name 'klaxons' is coloured in yellow which is extremely bright and makes it stand out largely.
Focusing on the cover I can see that a CD has been given away with the magazine therefore this will increase the sales of the magazine.
With mixmag the main focus is the band/artist on the front cover, however with other magazines they often have other articles spread around the front cover, I have noticed that there are other artists and bands listed down the right hand side of the magazine perhaps to promote their popularity.
The colour used for the title 'mixmag' is very unusual and not used anywhere else on the magazine, therefore makes it look more original.

With DJmagazine we can immediately see that it is associated with dance music because of the funky font used which is often used on album covers, posters, billboards etc. Also the afro hairstyle is often associated with dance and funk perhaps because there is an article about ibiza which is the place to be for dance music.
The title of the magazine stands out because of the colour red is often associated with importance therefore will draw the reader into picking the magazine up.
Again with 'DJ' the colours are very bright and colourful as in 'mixmag' this is because it could be representing the genre of music which is upbeat and positive.
The magazine seems very focused on Ibiza perhaps because this is where dance music is associated with. The background colour is very pale and also features a small part of the sea probably showing the island of ibiza, the paleness of the blue keeps the attention focused on the main image and main article. Dotted around the magazine are two competions which are also popular with magazines therefore the reader can feel involved and can also participate in competitions. The reason as to why I am mainly analysing dance music magazines is because I am going to base my music magazine of the genre and also these magazines will help me to gather information to create my own dance music magazine which will also consist of celebrity gossip and general information for teenagers/young adults.

Mojo is a popular music magazine published by Bauer, following the success of Q. Mojo could be said as to be classic rock magazine, and would fall under the genre of rock/metal. On Mojo's first issues Bob Dylan and John Lennon were featured on the front cover, this shows that it is a very popular magazine because of the famous artists/bands featured.
Mojo also has special edition magazines which include the whole magazine being about just one artist or genre, one of the most famous was a special edition about the Beatles. The colour scheme of Mojo is very dark and uses minimal colours such as white, black and red these colours especially black are associated with the rock and metal genre. Red often signifies with importance therefore this will perhaps be one of the key reasons as to why Mojo has used this colour.
Mojo also features a CD which shows how popular this music magazine, in this magazine a CD has been given away about Bob Dylans roots and what inspired him as an artist.





NME is an extremely popular magazine and covers mainly the indie/rock genre, the music magazine has been running since 1952 and created the UK singles chart. Many famous groups such as the Rolling Stones and The Beatles were featured.
As we can see on this magazine The Killers are featured on the front cover, the killers are a popular band and therefore are the main focus on the magazine.
The colour scheme of the NME magazine are bold colours such as red, yellow and white these make the headline and information stand out and look appealing to the reader. The NME not only has its own magazine but its own website and its own awards. The music magazine focuses on new upcoming bands and helped bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Artic Monkeys etc become were they are today.